Family of Five Embarks on CT Trail and More

The first kayaking family to attempt a thru-paddle began Jan. 3, from Big Lagoon State Park. Calling their life journey, "Adventures for Change," Melissa and Jeremy Howard and three of their children, ages 8, 11 and 13, plan to finish in June. They are supporting a different charity for each of the trail's 26 segments they paddle through and they plan to keep an ongoing blog. The family runs a kayak tour company in Southwest Florida.

Aaron Carotta, otherwise known as Adventure Aaron, stopped at Big Lagoon on Jan. 4 during a canoe journey that started five months earlier in Montana. He plans to continue paddling
along the Gulf on the CT and is not yet sure of his ending point. He paddles in support of the group "I'm Adopted."

Scott Warren began his journey on Oct. 30 at Big Lagoon and is currently in South Florida. Several other paddlers are scheduled to start the trail or are completing it in segments over time.

You can learn about these paddlers and more at the annual CT Trail Reunion April 21-23, at Wekiwa Springs State Park. The Florida Paddling Trails Association (FPTA), in cooperation with OGT, hosts the annual reunion to
celebrate tales from this season’s CT thru-paddlers and show appreciation for statewide volunteers and to those "trail
angels" who assist long-distance paddlers. The reunion is a blast and not to be missed! You must be an FPTA member to join the fun and
receive free park admission, cabin accommodations, a great paddling trip
down beautiful Rock Springs Run, dinner and breakfast, and a chance to meet and
mingle with lots of fun paddling friends. Those wishing to attend should contact Doug.Alderson@dep.state.fl.us.

Embark on a Real Florida Adventure!

The Real Florida Guides, formerly called trail itineraries, can now be found on the Florida State Parks website. Created by OGT, each Real
Florida guide focuses on outdoor recreation, history and culture within a
15-mile radius of a chosen site. Each hub is either a state park, town,
small city or rural region and features camping options. The goal is to promote
extended stays by featuring multiple trail opportunities and
points-of-interest. Locations range from Topsail Hill Preserve State Park in
the Panhandle to White Springs in North-Central Florida to Lake Kissimmee State
Park near Lake Wales. There are also six guides that are part of the Wish You Were Here theme, featuring state parks that were once Old Florida tourist attractions.

The Palmetto Trail

The Palmetto Trail, an
approximately 1-mile multi-use recreational trail located
within the 20-acre Palmetto Estuary Park on the north shore of the Manatee River, was recently completed. The Palmetto Trail is a section of the 260-mile Southwest
Coast Greenway Trail, a Florida Greenways & Trails System Priority Trail
stretching from Pinellas County south to Collier County.

Twenty-three SUN Trail projects are for individual trail segments throughout the rest of the state.
This includes a bridge project on the Withlacoochee State Trail and a 5.5 mile extension of the Palatka-to-Lake Butler State Trail to the town of Palatka. All of the trails are part of the priority trail network, coordinated by OGT.

The SUN Trail Program was established during the 2015 legislative session.

Celebrate Florida Hiking Trails Month!

The weather is often cool and crisp this time of year, so it's time to lace up those hiking shoes because February is Florida Hiking Trails Month! Florida boastsmorethan2,500milesofhikingtrails that are open
to the public, in addition to 4,680 miles of shared-use trails that are also available to
hikers. HikingopportunitiesinFloridaincludethe1,100-mileFlorida
National Scenic Trail,oneof only11congressionally designatedNationalScenicTrails
intheU.S. TheFloridaTrail AssociationisFlorida'svolunteerorganizationfordevelopingandmaintaininghikingtrails throughout the state.

Did You Know?

Every dollar spent on biking and walking trails saves approximately three dollars in medical expenses (American Heart Association).

Take the Outdoor Recreation Public Provider Survey

SCORP is
a five-year policy plan that guides the development of a diverse, balanced,
statewide outdoor recreation system. Florida’s SCORP documents our recreational
supply and demand by describing current opportunities, estimating
needs for additional opportunities and proposing means for meeting
those identified needs.